Vernon Hills' Overbeck overtakes Lake County meet field
There are a lot of great rivalries when you think about Lake Country girls cross country.
But since last season, the individual rivalries have been just about as intriguing as the team rivalries.
Lake Forest proved that it is going to be one of the teams to beat this fall in Lake County and the North Suburban Conference as the Scouts outdistanced Vernon Hills 44-55 for first place in the 15-team Lake County meet Wednesday afternoon under oppressive running conditions on the 3.1-mile Lakewood Forest Preserve course.
Libertyville placed third with 79 points followed by Lakes (101 points) in fourth, and Stevenson (110 points) in fifth.
Grayslake Central outdistanced Mundelein 144-223 for sixth place while Warren (232 points) placed ninth.
The individual race for first place was not close in the end as Vernon Hills senior Vivian Overbeck (18:03.3) pulled away from runner-up Kortney Schardt (18:16.5) of Lakes and third-place finisher Melissa Manetsch (18:17.8) of Libertyville.
The rivalry between this elite trio has been a great one, with Manetsch surprising many on her way to the NSC individual crown last year as a freshman, with Schardt in second, and Overbeck in third.
But Wednesday was Overbeck's day to shine as she shrugged off the extreme heat and humidity in the mid 90's to take the Lake County title.
"By the mile we were down to a pack of three, and I took the first mile fast at 5:38," said Overbeck, who placed 13th in the state last year. "Usually it's been back and forth the whole season between me and Kortney, and I think it's great that the three of us are in the same conference because we have really great competition and it brings out the best in us."
Besides Overbeck, the Cougars got a ninth-place finish from sophomore Lauren Katz, a 13th from freshman Payton Makowskyj, a 14th from Hannah Ray, and an 18th from senior Shannon Skeoch to round out their top five scorers.
"Vivian (Overbeck) looked good today, she's been training really well this summer, and I know Kortney (Schardt) edged her out here last year so this was her year," said Vernon Hills coach Suzanne Curry, whose team placed eighth in Class 2A last year. "We had a nice pack, and I was pleasantly surprised because we haven't had a 3-mile race yet except for our own time trial. So it was good for them to get their first varsity race in."
Libertyville got a 12th-place finish from senior Sarah Pirih while sophomore teammate Jenna Ocheltree placed 17th.
After winning the NSC meet last year, Manetsch was under the weather at the sectional meet and did not qualify for the state meet. Schardt rolled to seventh in Class 2A for the Eagles.
"We always kind of train through this meet, and we have some holes to fill on our team but I'm happy with how we did on a hot day," said Libertyville coach Bill Etnyre. "Those three girls raced against each other all last cross country season and last track season and they will always be out front with each other."
Schardt got some good support from freshmen teammates Megan Knuettel (15th place), and Simone Lippman (19th place) as coach Keith West's squad lost numerous key seniors to graduation.
Stevenson was led by sophomore Isabelle Sparreo (18:33) in fourth place with senior teammate Jessica Philipp placing eighth for the Patriots.
Grayslake Central was paced by junior Megan Girmscheid in 11th place while freshman Clarissa Weinckowski was Mundelein's top runner in 20th place.
"She (Girmscheid) ran tough today, and I think she can do something special by the end of the year," said Grayslake Central coach Jimmy Centella. "I think it was a good first step for our team and I know they will get a lot better as the season goes on."
Vernon Hills freshman Ryan Schofield placed 21st to edge Grayslake Central junior Elizabeth Aho in 22nd place. Freshman Lily Sanchez was Wauconda's No. 1 runner in 23rd place followed by Libertyville teammates Mia Bertaud in 24th, and Audrey Paglia in 24th. Stevenson freshman Kendall Roberts placed 26th.